M. S. Thesis Abstract

Product Design for Disassembly

Joseph F. Scheuring III

March 1994

The need to incorporate manufacturing and assembly considerations into the design of products is well-documented. This need also exists for recycling considerations and will only increase in importance as environmental laws get tougher and customers desire more environmentally friendly products. An important cost driver for recycling is disassembly. For this reason, designers need tools to help them determine the disassembly sequence early on in the design stage. This paper addresses this issue by presenting a computer program to help solve for the preferred robotic disassembly sequences for a product. Results from the program for a single-use camera and a hand saw reciprocating mechanism are presented. Problems, improvements to the employed solution technique, and the possible use of simulated annealing as a solution technique are discussed.